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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 15, 2019 14:30:50 GMT -6
Serine stopped, and even seemed to relax a bit, but her eyes were still bright and attentive. Fiera left it for a while, creating a pregnant pause, before throwing her the fish. "...Good girl." This time, Serine was right on the money, and snatched the fish up before it even hit the ground, and had it down her gullet before Fiera could even finish getting the next one out. Fiera smiled, knowing that Serine was catching on fast. Serine began to move her feet, and Fiera immediately caught her. "Serine, stay." She said, and Serine put her feet back down, waiting in a prissy fascimile of politeness. Fiera's lip twitched up in amusement, and the moment she gave Serine a 'good girl' to let her know the trick was over, the tilvander happily plip-plapped her way over to Fiera, and received her prize. Serine was willing to learn- it was just a matter of getting her to listen.
Fiera 10 (Level up!) Serine 6.0/13.0 Stay 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 15, 2019 14:53:00 GMT -6
With Serine knowing the meaning of the word "stay", that left just one of Fiera's planned tricks to go. From there, Fiera would either teach her something unplanned, or maybe just play for a while. They still had plenty of light in the day after all. This trick was a little... unpredictable, however. Tilvanders were amphibious creatures and had a natural affinity for water, as Serine had shown already, splashing around and moving faster in the shallows of the pool. Unfortunately, Serine hadn't been raised by wild tilvanders (if such a thing even existed), and so her swimming abilities were... nonexistent. Sure, she could writhe around in the shallows with the best of them, but proper swimming was beyond Serine's grasp. Well, Fiera would just have to help with that... even if she wasn't a fantastic swimmer herself. She looked at the lake, and the water within the tide pool. She hoped it wasn't cold.
Fiera 1 Serine 6.1/13.1 Swim 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 15, 2019 15:42:34 GMT -6
She began stripping off her clothes, and Serine immediately began looking at her suspiciously. Serine might not be the nicest creature, but she was clever and knew that this wasn't normal behavior. Finally, Fiera was left with nothing but her swimsuit. She glanced at her reflection in the water, and immediately cringed as she realized that maybe she needed to work out a bit more. Or find a surgeon. Or something. (She looked fine of course, but she didn't know that.) She proceeded to get a couple of frozen fish out of the cooler, putting them in a ziploc bag. Then, she got in the water next to Serine, immediately causing the tilvander to back away. Thankfully, the day was hot and the water was pleasantly warm. She couldn't quite see the bottom, but hopefully no one had thrown anything sharp in there. She pushed off the side of the pool, gliding into the center.
Fiera 2 Serine 6.2/13.2 Swim 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 15, 2019 15:57:34 GMT -6
Serine watched her go, still curled up on a rock near the shore. Fiera tread water, head bobbing above the surface. Thankfully, it wasn't a very deep tide pool, and if she stopped swimming, her feet just barely touched the ground under the water. "Serine, come!" She called while holding up a fish from the bag, and then followed up with "Swim!" Serine moved toward Fiera, but kept her tail wrapped around the rock, flailing in the water. Fiera cringed, and quickly put the fish away. Instincts clearly weren't taking control here- Serine had no clue what she was doing. Once the baggie was sealed, she made her way back to shore where Serine was. The tilvander quickly retreated, wrapping her way around the rock again. Instead of coming all the way in however, Fiera stayed about five feet away from her, in waist deep water. "Serine... come! Swim!" She said, urging Serine forward.
Fiera 3 Serine 6.7/13.3 Swim 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 15, 2019 16:17:50 GMT -6
Serine finally launched off the rock, clinging to Fiera's legs. She laughed, and popped open the bag again. "Good girl, Serine, good swim!" She offered Serine a fish, and the tilvander struggled up Fiera's legs to grab it. As she ate, Fiera slowly drifted backward, pulling Serine into deeper waters. Serine seemed to panic at first, writhing around, but Fiera was quick to place her hands under the tilvander's belly, supporting her weight. Serine slowly stopped struggling, and soon just sat in Fiera's hands in the middle of the tide pool, confused by the situation. She tried undulating her body, and Fiera was quick to move her hands along after her, making sure she didn't wiggle out of Fiera's arms. "Swim, Serine!" She said, trying to connect the action with the command. Serine slowly gained confidence as they moved, briefly ducking her head under the water, and rapidly changing directions.
Fiera 4 Serine 6.4/13.4 Swim 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 15, 2019 20:22:52 GMT -6
Fiera kept walking around with her for a while, keeping a hand on her, and repeating the word "Swim!". Every time she did, Serine put on another burst of energy, winding her way through the water. Soon, she was almost pulling Fiera through the water, clearly enjoying herself. As she did, Fiera reduced the amount of skin to skin contact, and after a certain point, she wasn't touching Serine at all. She was swimming on her own! Fiera still kept her hands close, but Serine increasingly seemed to not need her help. Each minute, she swam further and further away before coming back for support. Fiera left her a few minutes like that, and then made her way toward the shore. Serine hardly seemed to notice, let alone distressed, and instead was having a blast splashing through the water. Under the summer sun, Fiera sat and watched, while Serine swam and dove. Overall, a pretty good day.
Fiera 5 Serine 7.0/14.0 Swim 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 9, 2019 15:39:33 GMT -6
It was getting far too cold for this, Fiera thought, As opposed to the summertime, when she had been swimming in the water with her tilvander, teaching the creature to swim, now she was huddled up next to a shallow pool by the shore. She was dressed in a jacket and galoshes, letting her splash through the water with Banzai. The little fish seemed excited to be out and about, zipping through the shallows. Thankfully, the tide had separated the pool from the lake proper, keeping him from leaping back into the water and getting lost. Fiera was grateful for it- Banzai’s exuberance meant that he would certainly give it a try if given the opportunity. Additionally, even though the area she had picked for training was long and wide, Banzai was brightly colored and easily spotted. He was also small enough to be easily manhandled if necessary, but she’d rather train him peacefully instead. Fiera 6 Banzai 0.1/7.1 Name 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 9, 2019 16:50:05 GMT -6
This lead her to teaching him his first trick- his name. She had heard that tat-lung were intelligent, sapient creatures, so hopefully this wouldn’t take long. Although... Banzai was also a freshly hatched baby, so maybe that wasn’t quite so accurate for the time being. She’d still try her best to treat him with respect regardless- she didn’t want him growing up with any memories of Fiera calling him a stinky baby or anything... even though he DID smell like fish. “Banzai!” She called, gently tapping at the surface of the water to get his attention. She tried not to shiver upon touching it- even when practically on shore, the water was freezing. Banzai zipped over, a swiftly moving blue and yellow streak, attracted by anything that moved. She couldn’t blame him- this sand stranded patch of water must get boring after the first couple of minutes.
Fiera 7 Banzai 0.2/7.2 Name 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 9, 2019 16:57:03 GMT -6
“Hi Banzai! Good job, buddy!” She said when he approached, and sprinkled some- ugh- crushed bugs into the water. She found the idea of eating bugs disgusting, even gag worthy. She had been poor once, but not THAT poor. Regardless of her opinion of arthrophagy however, apparently young tat-lung considered then a delicacy. As a result, she had picked up a whole can of the stuff, with a sprinkle lid for pet owners. She was glad to have it- she didn’t think she could stomach feeding them to Banzai one by one. As expected, Banzai went nuts for each one that hit the surface of the water, zipping around before eating with gusto. He was an energetic little scrap of dragon fish, that was for sure. Once he was done though, she let him wander off again. By letting his attention fade, she could start the trick over again.
Fiera 8 Banzai 0.3/7.3 Name 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 9, 2019 17:03:56 GMT -6
Sure enough, Banzai wandered away again, examining and digging through the sand at the bottom of the pool. What was he looking for, anyway? Well, whatever it was, he could have it- Fiera wasn’t about to jump in after him. She did however, call him again! “Banzai!” She called again, but didn’t tap the water. She wanted him to respond to the sound of his name, not to vibrations in the water. “Banzai!” She called again. He did pause... but stayed where he was, digging through the substrate. She sighed and opened the can of... ‘treats’ again, sprinkling them on the water’s surface. THAT got his attention. She made sure to urge him on and use his name plenty of times as he approached. “That’s it Banzai! Hi Banzai!” Silly, repetitive things like that. With any luck, all this repetition was getting into his little head.
Fiera 9 Banzai 0.4/7.4 Name 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 9, 2019 17:37:51 GMT -6
She tried that a couple more times, letting Banzai go back and forth between her and the rest of the puddle. After all those tries though, she felt he was finally ready for his final test. She hadn't said his name when she didn't want him here after all, and only said his name when he was. With any luck, he would have gotten the idea that when she said 'Banzai', she was referring to him. Still, it all came down to this. She put the treat can away- she wouldn't need it for this one. Then, she cupped her (delicately gloved) hands around her mouth. She said random words at first, like 'shoes' or 'tree' and whatnot. She watched him carefully, his shape in the water a few feet away. Finally, she slipped in his name. "Banzai!" She called, and he immediately perked up and turned around. She sighed with relief- one trick down.
Fiera 10 (Level up!) Banzai 1.0/8.0 Name 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2019 17:36:07 GMT -6
Banzai had learned his name easily enough, but that wasn’t the only trick that Fiera wanted to teach him today. She had all day, after all. Fiera had a list of basic tricks ready, and they had served her well in the past with all of her other pets. Every single one could be learned by every single species- or at least by every species she had met so far. Banzai was no exception, and the humanish loved how readily he took to training. The order in which she taught these tricks was usually random, so she ran her finger down her mental list. How about no? That one was usually taught easy enough, and it was always quite useful in learning other things. After all, it gave her the ability to tell him when he was doing something wrong along with praising him when he was doing something right.
Fiera 1 Banzai 1.1/8.1 No 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2019 17:36:30 GMT -6
She stopped in front of the ‘puddle’ he was in. In reality, it was more of a tide pool, formed by some of the water from the lake getting stuck in between two dunes between high tides. As a result, it gave Banzai some room to swim around, but wasn’t so deep that Fiera could lose track of him in murky water, as he was brightly colored against the pale sand. As of right now, he was chasing around something small and colorful, which Fiera couldn’t help but lean down to look at as well. What was it? Upon closer inspection, she realized that he really shouldn’t be playing with that. It was a brightly colored scrap of plastic, off of something like a grocery bag. Bright and colorful yes, but if he decided it was something he could eat, he’d need to be immediately rushed to a doctor, or worse.
Fiera 2 Banzai 1.2/8.2 No 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2019 17:37:19 GMT -6
“Banzai, no!” She yelped, splashing into the water after him. He glanced at her, barbels waving curiously at her sudden entry into the water. She hadn’t done it before, after all. If there was one thing the cat woman hated, it was getting wet. She plunged her hand into the water toward the scrap, only to come back up with the scrap… and a young fish attached to it. “Banzai, no.” She reiterated, lowering the baby tat-lung back in and gently prising him off. He seemed absolutely furious about it, splashing wildly, but once she got him off she was able to raise it far out of his maximum leaping height. Once the initial panic was over however, she realied that this could make a teaching moment. “Banzai, no.” She said once more at the leaping tat-lung, and started waiting for him to calm down. It took a while though, considering what a proud creature he was.
Fiera 3 Banzai 1.3/8.3 No 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2019 17:37:36 GMT -6
Eventually though, he seemed to have had enough, becoming too tired to jump and instead swimming circles around Fiera’s ankles. She sighed with relief and got the jar of treats out from where it was tucked into her pocket. She let some splash into the water. “Good job, Banzai. Good no.” She said, loud enough for him to hear her underwater. He seemed to pout for a minute, but eventually his pride faltered in the face of delicious food. Fiera stood quietly, waiting for him to finish eating so her movement didn’t disturb his snacks. When he did however, she kneeled in the water, careful to keep her tail from getting wet. She lifted up the scrap of plastic, but put a finger in front of him as he locked eyes on it. “Banzai, no.” She ordered again, hoping that the little fish was getting the picture by this point.
Fiera 4 Banzai 1.4/8.4 No 4
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